Humor of the Past

May 27, 2008

By lindsay R., park ridge, IL

The Humor of the Past

Humor and excitement may be the two most important things one would want to shape their lives. As I grew up with four brothers and my dad with seven siblings, one could envision the entertaining times that shaped our childhood years. Through our lives frightening moments and unforgettable times are usually looked back on later as a humorous moment. Its funny how one can find the most terrible experiences in their life, amusing as they look back on it later. My family has gone through many thrilling times throughout the years. I hope through these two stories that are connected through humor, one can understand the humor of both situations at the present, but the terror of them in the past.

When its a hundred degrees outside, I’m sure we can all agree that a pool is the best solution to a blazing hot summer day. When we’re children, I’m sure we can also agree that we will believe anything our parents tell us. My dad grew up with seven siblings; one can imagine how hard it is to plan a family trip. News of a family trip filled the sticky apartment, and all the people below my fathers apartment could hear was banging noises, while the kids jumped for joy. News that they were staying at a hotel with a pool got out, and everyone was packed within seconds. Everyone loaded their luggage into the no air conditioned ford galaxy station wagon, and the journey for the pooled hotel was on! Car trouble put them four hours behind their destination time. The uncomfortable ness of sitting on the stone curb outside the gas station was expunged from their minds when the ford galaxy started back up and their journey to the hotel continued. As the car began to stop, everyone arouse from their crowded, sticky, uncomfortable naps excited to see what lay in front of them. My father and his seven siblings stared in amazement, not in the amazement of a pool, but the amazement that they actually made hotels that small. Staring back at the disappointed kids was a 5.00 dollar a night hotel smaller than my living room at home. Everyone was confused and the questions shot out at once, “where are we?” “Where is the pool?” My Grandparents calmed everyone at once and began to explain what was going on. They explained that they were now in Washington D.C because they felt that everyone was uneducated with the United States and that this was going to be a very educational trip. On top of that news, Walt, my father’s youngest brother, went missing for four hours in the capital building. Turns out he was hiding in the bathroom stall due to the disease, boredom. Long dips in the refreshing pool were replaced by long boring walks through the capital building. It’s funny how the worst week of my fathers childhood, turned into the most amusing moment looking back upon it now.

Family trips really take a toll on you as a child. A Family story I look back upon now that was horrible at the time but hilarious now also occurred while vacationing with my family. My parents, my four brothers, and I stepped off of the airplane and into every kids dream vacation, Disney world. The pool to my dad was like Disney world to me. I remember I was in a stage in my life where I couldn’t go anywhere without my mother. She was my idol, wherever she went, I was sure to follow right at her feet. My family and I were all waiting at the bus stop right outside our hotel. We were all excited and happy because we were about to go to universal studios for the whole day. My mom suddenly realized she forgot her purse so she left to go get it without telling me. I looked around and she was nowhere to be found. I asked my father where mommy was and he had told me she had gone back to the room to get her purse. I immediately ran to go find her without even consulting my dad about it. I made matters a lot worse because I ended up being so lost. Picture this, a five year old surrounded by hundreds of parked cars screaming for her mommy. I was frantic, screaming and crying like a little baby. My older brother heard my screams and began to run to come save me. As he turned around to run and find me, he ran directly into a huge metal pole, knocking his front teeth out instantly. My mom found me on her way back to the bus stop and we walked back together. She calmed me down and I was beginning to feel much better. Once we arrived at the bus stop I immediately saw all the blood. I became hysterical once again; afraid that my older brother might die because of all the blood it appeared he was losing. It was one of the most traumatic experiences at the time, but looking back on it, all I can do is laugh about the whole thing. I was young and careless, while my brother was a klutz. Every time I picture this experience in my head, all I do is laugh.

In both of the above stories my father and I were caught in a moment of time where we felt there was no way there was any humor about the situation at all. It’s so strange that eventually over time, that situation can turn into an amusing experience. As I keep growing up, I’m sure many more of these past experiences will occur throughout my life. I will be able to tell my children the humorous stories of my past, as my parents do for me. If experiences like the above ever happen to my children, I’ll know exactly what to say to them to help them understand that one day they’ll laugh about it.

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